Metro Detroit communities make push to count as many residents as possible in 2010 census

Cities throughout metro Detroit are going out of their way to encourage residents to participate in the 2010 census, in hopes of making up for federal funding that will be lost from people who have moved out of the region.

The Detroit Free Press reports Southeast Michigan communities stand to lose $1,400 in annual federal funding for each of the 72,000 residents who are estimated to have left the region since the 2000 census -- a total of more than $100 million. That looming shortfall has local cities and towns pushing to get the word out to residents about the upcoming census in hopes of increasing participation and bolstering population numbers used to determine how much government funding the communities receive.

Freep, Nov. 27: The 2010 census presents big challenges for metro Detroit. Officials worry about finding displaced residents because of home foreclosures and skittish immigrants who have shied away from federal paper work since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In Detroit -- long a challenge to census takers -- hundreds of volunteers are fanning out across the city before the 10-question forms are mailed out in March to encourage residents to be counted. Mayor Dave Bing enlisted a group of volunteers in October to reach out to immigrants, faith-based groups, community leaders, seniors and schools to boost participation.

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts has vowed to meet personally with every new resident to get the word out about the census, and plans to run commercials to help build awareness. Southfield is placing notices about the census in its water bills and sending bilingual workers to speak with immigrants in the city, including growing populations of Russian, Chaldean and Nigerian residents.

Hazel Park is using strategies such as recruiting schoolchildren to talk to their parents about the importance of the census, and a group of 13 local nonprofits has banded together to help get the word out to homeless people and other hard-to-reach populations, according to the Freep.

Federal officials told the Freep they agree the 2010 census will play a crucial role in metro Detroit's future for the next decade.

"There are a lot of resources at stake in metro Detroit," said U.S. Census Bureau spokesman Kim Hunter told the Freep. "We need to make sure every living, breathing soul is counted."